How’d We Miss This?

This past June 15, George Wilson stopped at the Gulf gas station near Foodtown to fill up his car. On a whim, the Cold Spring resident bought a $5 scratch-off ticket for a New York Lottery game called Super Tripler Cash.

A Super Tripler Cash scratch-off card

“I read the ticket after scratching it and knew immediately I had won the jackpot,” Wilson told lottery officials.

The jackpot was $1 million, or $522,822 after taxes. Wilson, 59, said at the time he planned to use the money for retirement.

Lottery officials release the names of any winner of $1 million or more, although a spokesperson said the agency did not take a photo of Wilson with a giant check, as is often done. And unlike with Powerball draws, retailers do not earn bonuses when they sell winning scratch-offs. So the station has only the honor of having sold a big-money ticket.

Winning at least $1 million on a lottery ticket is uncommon but not unheard of. Since 2012, six Putnam County residents have done it. The largest jackpot was $2.5 million on a scratch-off purchased in 2016 by a 23-year-old landscaper at a Gulf station in Brewster.

No one in Beacon has won more than $25,000 since 2012, but a scratch-off purchased at a Stewart’s Shop in Poughkeepsie in January 2017 was worth $10 million.

An Ossining couple won $7 million on a scratch-off ticket in December. (NY Lottery)

In Philipstown, Foodtown had a $10,000 winner in 2015, Appalachian Market in Garrison had a $15,000 winner that same year and the Gulf in Garrison had a $20,000 winner in 2013. In Beacon, the most recent big win was $22,731 on a Take 5 ticket purchased in May 2015 at the Citgo on Fishkill Avenue.

The New York Lottery says it distributes more than $2 billion to public schools annually from its proceeds. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017, Putnam County schools received $13 million, according to lottery officials.

Related

Did you find this article useful or informative? Please consider a donation to support our work. Even $5 a month would be terrific. We are able to provide this website and our weekly print paper free to the community because of readers like you.

The Current welcomes comments on its coverage and local issues. Submissions are selected by the editor to provide a variety of opinions and voices, and all are subject to editing for accuracy, clarity and length. We ask that writers remain civil and avoid personal attacks. Submissions must include your first and last name (no pseudonyms), as well as a valid email address. Please allow up to 24 hours for an approved submission to be posted. All online comments may also appear in print.

A gift of just $5 per month ($60 per year) will help ensure The Current can continue to provide coverage of local government, arts and culture and sports to the Cold Spring, Philipstown and Beacon communities.